


Love Stuck

by ChilledLime



Category: CrankGameplays - Fandom, Unus Annus - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Haunted Houses, Hugging, I know it's 5 times +1 but it's fine, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Quarantine, Suits, Unus Annus, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28551276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChilledLime/pseuds/ChilledLime
Summary: Four times Ethan held Mark's hand, and one time Mark held his.
Relationships: Mark Fischbach/Ethan Nestor
Comments: 4
Kudos: 211





	Love Stuck

**Author's Note:**

> jus a fun little oneshot inbetween my multichapter stuff
> 
> sorry if it feels a little disjointed, I didn't write the parts in order

**1.**

Quarantine was a bitch. Having to film separately for months, plans for fun and interesting new things being thrown on the back burner because of the huge and obvious problem. But  _ finally,  _ it felt safe enough to get back together. When their tests came back negative, the relief Mark felt was beyond imagining. 

He could see Ethan again. 

Mark could overlook the fact that the first video they were filming was pee sauna, because it would be  _ with  _ Ethan. He couldn’t remember the last time he had actually seen someone and interacted with them in god knows how long. Getting to see Amy and Ethan again would be a dream. 

A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts, and he practically ran over to the door, flinging it open to see a surprised Ethan’s face.

“Oh! Hey man,” The boy grinned, pulling Mark into a tight hug. They immediately relaxed into the other’s grasp,  _ finally  _ getting the human contact they craved. “Let’s move this out of your doorstep, yeah?”

Ethan let go of the older man, taking his hand and dragging him inside; barely giving him time to shut the door. 

“I’ve missed you, Eth. It’s felt like ages.” Mark mumbled when Ethan hugged him again in the entryway, burying his nose into the crook of Mark’s neck. His free hand came up to cup the fluffy mess of the other’s hair, tangling his fingers in the short strands. 

There were so many things he wanted to say, whisper sweet nothings about how much he missed the boy - everything. But the realization that he wanted to do those things in the first place made him stop in his tracks. 

Friendly feelings were one thing, but this?

It was a lot.

And yeah, he  _ might’ve  _ had an inkling that the way his gaze would linger along Ethan’s frame, or how he could rarely actually say no to him and mean it, they didn’t exactly point to platonic attraction. But it’s fine. 

So instead of doing what his heart urged, he just held Ethan a little tighter until the other pulled back. 

“Missed you, dude.” He smiled, rubbing his thumb over Mark’s hand. “Amy’s gonna be here soon, yeah? So we can start filming the pain.” 

The older man nodded, enjoying the feeling of Ethan’s hand in his. “Yeah- any minute now, probably.” 

“Might as well go set up the cameras,” Not letting go of him, the boy led them both outside; where there was a hastily put together tripod and the portable sauna sitting by the wall. 

Soon enough, Amy had joined them in Mark’s backyard, pointedly looking at their conjoined hands, and then him, eyebrows raised in amusement. For whatever reason, Ethan didn’t feel like letting go - and there was no way in hell Mark was. 

Regretfully, they had to separate when they started filming. Mark could still faintly feel the heat on his palm for a while after. 

It was just one time, right? It wouldn’t become a pattern. 

**2.**

Mark looked over at Ethan, who was cradling his head in his hands. “God, Mark, I am  _ so  _ tired.” He laughed exhaustedly, pushing his chair back from the spare computer Mark had leant him. “I can’t remember the last time I actually edited, especially not for this long.” 

“The joys of having an editor, Eth. You wanna take a break?” 

The boy nodded.

Since he had already been over, they had decided to edit a bit of the videos they’d filmed that day, taking some strain off the editors and all that. Mark had pulled out a rolling chair from the closet, letting Ethan seat himself at the corner of his desk. 

“Here, I’ll get us some food, ‘kay?” He stood up from his own chair, stretching his arms up above him with a grunt. 

“Thanks, Mark.”

The older man trudged down the stairs, searching through the cabinets and fridge in an attempt to find something that’d keep them going for a few more hours. He settled on a bag of Doritos and a smoothie, throwing together whatever fruit was still fresh and some milk and honey into a blender and hoping for the best. 

Taking two  _ very  _ filled glasses and the chips, he headed back up. 

Ethan had moved to the couch, arms crossed on the armrest with his head laying on top. “I didn’t expect you to actually make something, no offense.”

Mark rolled his eyes, setting the cups down at the small table and sitting down next to the boy. “Well, I did, so.” Ethan eyed him gratefully, picking up the chilled glass and taking a sip. 

“Surprisingly good.”

“You  _ doubted  _ my cooking skills?” Mark huffed, feigning offense. “I can’t believe you.” 

The boy shot him a smile over the glass, practically chugging the drink. “You didn’t have to do this, y’know.”

“I wanted to.” He shrugged, taking the clip off of the bag and pulling out a chip. “You deserve it.” 

Yep, his feelings were getting worse. Thankfully, Ethan didn’t seem to catch on, simply reaching into the bag and taking some chips for himself.

When Ethan had finished eating, he quietly joined their hands together; pale thumb rubbing circles into the back of Mark’s palm. “Thank you, Mark, really.” 

The air seemed too thick, clouded with feelings and motions they were too afraid to act on. Mark felt like the air was being sucked out of his lungs, only getting worse when Ethan rested a shoulder against his own. They  _ should  _ get back to editing, Ethan wasn’t going to be there all day. But Mark felt frozen in the spot, heat from the boy’s very close body radiating to him.

His neck felt hot, and his face was definitely tinted red. But if Ethan noticed, he didn’t call it out. 

Mark wasn’t sure when they started doing this. Getting a little too close and being a little too affectionate to just be brushed off as platonic intimacy. It had been such a natural change, so gradual that he only noticed when he was too far in. 

It was okay.

**3.**

The decision to drive out to the desert for a night had been mostly Mark’s. He had been trying to think of an interesting change of scenery while keeping in mind the… not so video-friendly state of the world. It had taken a few days of relentless brainstorming before he came up with the idea, but when he had thought of it; he wouldn’t settle for anything less. 

When he had brought it up to Ethan, the way the boy’s eyes lit up with excitement made everything leading up to that moment worth it and more. His unnamed but suspiciously stomach-flutter-inducing feelings had been slowly escalating, and Mark wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold them down. Well, he could do it forever - he just didn’t want to. 

Amy had probably realized it before he did, judging by the knowing looks and passing jests about them practically being boyfriends. 

One week later, they were packing their bags and setting off to the bum-fuck, middle of nowhere desert. The first two videos filmed that day were a good way to warm up and complete the extremely loose ‘script’ (if one could call it that) for their video reminding the audience that _yes,_ _the clock is ticking._

They had unanimously decided to film the stargazing video the night before they left, leaving a night in between to just relax at the airbnb. It doubled as both a mini-vacation  _ and  _ a source of videos, which was a win in Mark's book. 

After Amy had wished the two goodnight and disappeared into her room, it had taken Mark a shocking 5 minutes to realize Ethan had disappeared. 

He poked his head out of the back door, looking around. The boy in question was sitting on the step, staring up at the sky. 

"Hey, Eth." Mark murmured, shutting the door behind him. The air was dryer out here, dust and sand flying around at the slightest movement. 

Ethan turned to look at him, shooting him a small smile. "Care to join me?" He patted the stone next to him.

"I'm surprised you didn't find me out here first," The older man laughed, sitting down and following Ethan's gaze up at the stars. They were more vibrant and visible than he had ever seen them before - even back in Ohio. Of course, there was still a bit of light pollution - but not as much as normal. 

“Pretty.” Mark wasn’t sure if he was talking about the stars or Ethan. 

Time seemed to slow to a halt, with nothing but the moon and the stars shining down onto pale sand. The glowing dots hanging in the darkened sky were mesmerizing, pulling him in and not wanting him to look away. 

There was a hand on his. 

Tentatively sitting on top, light as a feather - questioning. He didn’t need to look over to know what Ethan was thinking. 

Mark flipped his hand so their palms were together, threading their fingers in place. His heart was beating just a little too fast, but he didn’t mind. 

Sitting there, hand in hand, the world faded away.

**4.**

When Ethan had shown up at Mark’s doorstep, lugging a fairly sized box of god-knows-what, he knew he was in for a treat. The boy had been purposely vague, responding to Mark’s questions of  _ what  _ with only an excited smile. 

“Okay man, whatever you say.” Mark laughed, shutting the door behind Ethan. 

“It’ll be good dude, such a good video.” He pushed the box further into the house, half dragging-half carrying it through the living room and to the backyard slider. 

The older man watched with crossed arms and thinly masked amusement, knowing the fondness in his eyes was obvious. He couldn’t help it, okay? Ethan was adorable. “No heads up? I would’ve left the house unlocked so you wouldn’t have had to sit there waiting.” 

“Nah, that’d ruin the surprise. That’s like.. half of the point.” He left the box there, joining Mark in the kitchen and leaning against the fridge. “Few minutes and we’ll start?” 

“Sounds good.”

Even though Mark didn’t have as much to do for the recording than Ethan, he happily went along with the boy, watching him excitedly open up the box containing the power washer, and fuck around with it for the rest of the time. 

He almost felt like he was high, heart fluttering around in his chest in a way he hadn’t felt since he was in high school. Power washing #eeftober into the concrete of his porch, egging Ethan on to do more and more weird things with the machine until he was (recklessly) getting power washed in the face. 

It felt like the best time of his life, to be honest. 

If he were bolder, he would've kissed him right then and there. But he wasn't, and he wouldn't. Although Mark would tell everybody he was good at reading people - especially Ethan, he couldn't for the life of him tell if the other felt the same. 

Surely the hand holding was a sign in his favor? Maybe if he wasn't so touchy and didn't seem to do it to everyone all the time. It could just be a new thing. Either way, Mark wasn't complaining. 

And then it was over. The cameras were being turned off, Evan and Amy were taking down the tripods. Ethan had scurried back into the house, coming back out a moment later with a towel. 

“C’mere, let me wipe that off.” The boy cupped his face in his hands, seemingly oblivious to the way Mark’s cheeks flushed beet red. “Now close your eyes.” 

It was so  _ Ethan  _ to insist on doing this, choosing the softest towel out of the kitchen and carefully drying off the planes of his face. 

“Better?” He stepped back, holding the bunched up cloth in his hand.

“Definitely. Thanks, Eth.” Mark hummed, idly touching where Ethan’s hand used to rest. Before he could properly react, the boy was sliding their hands together and dragging Mark back to the house, laughing as they passed the hashtag Mark had made. 

“Thank  _ you  _ for letting me do this. I know it wasn’t exactly something you got as much enjoyment out of as I did, but I appreciate it.” 

The heat from Ethan’s palm bled into his own, as they talked like they weren’t holding hands; but neither let go. 

**+1**

As Halloween drew near, and Unus Annus came to its final weeks, they had finally found a suitable house to rent for the night. It had all the gimmicks fitting for the season - fake blood splattered on the walls, cobwebs and dust sitting on almost every surface, along with wide open areas perfect for setting up cameras. 

At first Ethan had seemed confident enough, joking with the rest of the crew as they hauled the equipment inside, only using the dying light from the sunset to make sure they didn’t trip into anything. When the need to use the dodgy flashlights arose, Mark had noticed the slight tremble in his hands. 

He and Amy had disappeared for a while, setting up the clues for the ‘Ethan Kidnapped Mark’ video. When they came back, the boy looked a little better, not as much tire in his eyes as when they arrived. 

They had gotten that out of the way first, the experience of letting Ethan (slowly) guide him around the house, with his shitty rhymes; was genuinely fun as hell. He had already picked out a name for that ego, letting it sit in his mind to tell the boy about later. 

During a break, he and Mark had set up and taken a few shots to promote the exclusive Halloween merch - the older man shamelessly admiring Ethan as he posed. Their hands had brushed when they walked back to the others, a knowing smile on Ethan’s face.

“Here, let me fix that.” Mark grabbed Ethan’s tie, ignoring the way he quietly inhaled as he straightened the cloth. Before he stepped back, he brushed off a bit of dirt off of the expensive black suit. “You look good.”

The boy’s face flushed, taking Mark’s hand in his. “You do too.” 

Unspoken words and feelings sat in between them, not acknowledged. That sort of territory was a dangerous place with somebody who was also a public figure. 

If they walked out of the changing rooms still holding hands, nobody said anything about it. 

When they finally,  _ finally  _ finished up all the videos, it was already almost 3 am. All of them had some fatigue, droopy eyes or slow reaction times - except for Ethan. Well, okay; he was still definitely tired. But the twitches at every creak or groan from the house, or the way his eyes flew open whenever one was particularly loud, tipped Mark off that he might not end up sleeping if he were alone. 

Mark fluffed up the sleeping bag, trying to make it as comfortable as possible despite being on the hardwood floor. Ethan was already curled up in his, knees drawn up to his chest with the occasional tremble. 

He shoved his sleeping bag over so they were less than a foot away, before hastily crawling inside the plush. 

It wasn’t as comfortable as it looked.

“G’night.”

“Night.”

They lay there for a while, both trying to sleep but neither accomplishing it. Mark could literally hear whenever Ethan jumped, sometimes paired with a small squeak. “Okay, Eth, hold on.” He huffed, reaching over and pulling the boy so their bedrolls were touching. 

“W-What’re you doing?” 

“We both need to sleep.”

He unzipped the side of his bag, gesturing to Ethan’s. The boy followed suit a moment later, slowly unfurling from the ball he had crammed himself in. Mark shifted so the tops were covering them both, before throwing an arm around Ethan’s waist and pushing them so their chests were flush against each other. 

After a moment of hesitation, Ethan relaxed against him, one hand holding a bit of his shirt, face so close to Mark’s neck he could feel the soft puffs of breath. The older man took hold of Ethan’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. 

When they woke up with legs tangled together, pushed so impossibly close that neither could tell who’s limb was who's, neither had let go. 


End file.
